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Jon Gabriel (a.k.a., @ExJon on Twitter) is the Editor-in-Chief of Ricochet. He is a political writer and marketing consultant, contributing articles to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, and USA Today among others. Until 2012, he served as Director of Marketing for the free-market Goldwater Institute, where he converted policy initiatives into compelling stories. In the private sector, Jon led marketing efforts for Cold Stone Creamery, Honeywell, and several technology companies. In his… [more]

In a scene that’s all too common in the Obama era, an American city is in flames. This time it’s Baltimore, where a funeral for a man killed by cops was quickly followed by mob violence carried live on cable news and social media. Every few months another Democrat stronghold is convulsed by turmoil. Hope and change involves a lot more riots and looting than I expected.

Meanwhile, our President is touring the Beltway with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. They visited the Lincoln Memorial (must have special significance to a man named Abe) and tomorrow features a state dinner replete with Wagyu beef and exceedingly rare wines. I’m curious if the PM’s security detail is alarmed by the race war occurring just down the road or if his staff is simply aghast at how the world’s leading superpower has fallen so far and so fast. The shocking footage out of Baltimore isn’t a helpful backdrop for hosting one of our closest allies, especially when his nation is facing down an increasingly belligerent China and North Korea.

Details from the riots are changing quickly. Here’s the latest update from the Baltimore Sun:

Violence and looting overtook much of West Baltimore on Monday, seriously injuring several police officers and leaving a store and several vehicles in flames.

At least seven police officers were injured in a clash that began near Mondawmin Mall and spread toward downtown. One officer was unresponsive and others suffered broken bones, police spokesman Capt. Eric Kowalczyk said.

Smoke filled the air as police responded with shields and a tactical vehicle. Demonstrators pelted officers with rocks, bricks and bottles and assaulted a photojournalist, and officers fired back with tear gas and pepper balls.

Demonstrators set a police vehicle ablaze at North and Pennsylvania avenues. Nearby, they looted a CVS drug store, which store officials said had already closed, before firefighters battled a blaze there.

The unrest spread toward downtown, with looting along Howard and Centre streets as afternoon turned to evening.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake waited until 6 p.m. local time to activate the city’s emergency operation center to coordinate the response. Gov. Larry Hogan has placed the Maryland National Guard on alert. Since these, ahem, “mostly peaceful protests” usually heat up after dark, residents of the inaptly named Charm City will need your prayers tonight.

With liberal voters tearing apart another liberal city, I’m curious to hear how all this is all conservatives’ fault. The newly elected governor is a white Republican male, so I assume he’ll be the media’s bogeyman instead of Baltimore’s African-American Democrat female mayor or decades of far-left policies. Seeing young people looting pharmacies, liquor stores and check cashing centers, it’s hard not to see the folly of liberal social policy. This is what happens when you replace fathers with a government check.

Baltimore has been under black leadership for 27 years. Except of course, for the tenure of Martin O’Malley, whose “slash-and-burn” approach to policing helped create mistrust between the “community” and the police.

The police commissioner is black, the mayor is black, the city state’s attorney is black, most of the city council is black. If there is a problem with police brutality, why hasn’t it been addressed? Liberal black politicians have held the reins of power for decades. If they thought this was a problem, they could have fixed it, or at least addressed it, by now.

Jeremiah, my heart goes out to you. Baltimore has an interesting and important history in this country. I’ve had occasion to be in Baltimore several times in past 18 months and have had to work directly with union minority municipal employees. The sense of entitlement displayed was mind boggling. I am not sure which was the greater influence, unions or Al Sharpton types. Maybe that’s redundant.

Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog:The police commissioner is black, the mayor is black, the city state’s attorney is black, most of the city council is black. If there is a problem with police brutality, why hasn’t it been addressed? Liberal black politicians have held the reins of power for decades. If they thought this was a problem, they could have fixed it, or at least addressed it, by now.

I believe that since it does not it fit the narrative, the point will not be a part of the conversation. The police commissioner is also black. And looking through the pictures, many of the officers trying to control the violence and protect the city are black. Prayers with them and for peace.

I only lived in Baltimore for a few years but it was right near the stadium. Having left only about 18 months ago, seeing so many of the businesses I used to patronize looted, vandalized, and destroyed makes me both saddened and thankful to have moved on. I’m so sorry for you Jeremiah.

Funeral GuyJoined in the first year of RicochetRicochet Charter Member

The Mayoress of Baltimore is in the process of blaming the media for distorting her words that could be construed as giving permission to the rioters to do what rioters do. Obviously a graduate of The Bill and Hillary Clinton School of Media Management.

I happened to be going through the channels and heard Greta Van Susteren venting about a report that the rioting is mostly by high school students, who are being encouraged to let loose. Greta’s reaction: Where are the parents?

Most of those missing parents have been missing for quite a while. Starting to get the picture, Greta?

Funeral GuyJoined in the first year of RicochetRicochet Charter Member

Now that they’ve burned down the local CVS, any bets that in six months the residents will be complaining that the neighborhood is “underserved”? (I’m sure CVS Corporate is making plans to rebuild as we speak.) sarc/off

Funeral Guy:The Mayoress of Baltimore is in the process of blaming the media for distorting her words that could be construed as giving permission to the rioters to do what rioters do.Obviously a graduate of The Bill and Hillary Clinton School of Media Management.

Blame being shifted to governor of MD (because he’s called out the National Guard). By this time tomorrow it will be Bush/Cheney’s fault, because #SCIENCE!!. Pretty sure heteronormative phallocentric privilege, climate change, and Reagan will be blamed too.

Baltimore has been under black leadership for 27 years. Except of course, for the tenure of Martin O’Malley, whose “slash-and-burn” approach to policing helped create mistrust between the “community” and the police.

The police commissioner is black, the mayor is black, the city state’s attorney is black, most of the city council is black. If there is a problem with police brutality, why hasn’t it been addressed? Liberal black politicians have held the reins of power for decades. If they thought this was a problem, they could have fixed it, or at least addressed it, by now.

JB,

Is there any greater evidence that the left’s whole mindset on race is ridiculous to the point of total absurdity. What unseen force makes a city with a black mayor, a black DA, a black City Council, and a highly racially integrated police force be racist in its policing policy. The answer, as any sane person would surmise, is that it isn’t racist. Racism is the synthetic false narrative imposed on the situation by a relentlessly liberal media. Racism as the explanation for this ugly disaster will guarantee that whatever problems are at the heart of Baltimore they will never be solved.

If the ‘protesters’ (read thugs) think they are generating more white guilt I think they may be in for a surprise. This is a backlash generator. Reasonable people will look at this and make a pledge to themselves. Someday, maybe not today, this kind of nonsense gets stopped cold.

Funeral GuyJoined in the first year of RicochetRicochet Charter Member

The Mayoress’s news conference was thick with Baltimore’s leaders (Democrats all, I’d wager.). Not a white face among them. If Police brutality is such a major problem in Baltimore why was this not Priority One for the Mayoress and the Police Chief (also black with a force that’s 40% black)? We have a largely Black city with an almost completely Black leadership and this is the fault of white people?

God in Heaven, I get tired of the “liberals tearing apart another liberal city” meme on the right. This kind of dysfunction and disorder are indeed characteristic of a particular demographic group, but that demographic is not “Democrats” or “liberals.”

wmartin:God in Heaven, I get tired of the “liberals tearing apart another liberal city” meme on the right. This kind of dysfunction and disorder are indeed characteristic of a particular demographic group, but that demographic is not “Democrats” or “liberals.”

Are you referring to the rioters? If not “Democrats” or “liberals” then who are they.

Basil FawltyJoined in the first year of RicochetRicochet Charter Member

wmartin:God in Heaven, I get tired of the “liberals tearing apart another liberal city” meme on the right. This kind of dysfunction and disorder are indeed characteristic of a particular demographic group, but that demographic is not “Democrats” or “liberals.

The demographic group may not be “Democrats” or “liberals” but, whatever the demographic group is, it’s made up of Democrats and liberals.

Jon Gabriel, Ed.: With liberal voters tearing apart another liberal city, I’m curious to hear how all this is all conservatives’ fault.

No doubt there is plenty of blame to go around on many levels but, if you live in a large city in a solid blue state and if that city has been led by Democrat mayors for at least twenty of the last thirty years, and you don’t see some fashion of this in your not too distant future then you just may be an idiot.

Funeral Guy:The Mayoress of Baltimore is in the process of blaming the media for distorting her words that could be construed as giving permission to the rioters to do what rioters do.Obviously a graduate of The Bill and Hillary Clinton School of Media Management.

And the media will back her on it. They’ll tell you… with a straight face… that up really means sideways, and you people out there watching us just took things the wrong way. With the sole exception of Fox News, the Fourth Estate is a Fifth Column. That includes the WSJ.

Let’s review: Cities under decades of Democrats. Detroit? Now a hellhole. Los Angeles? Becoming one. Atlanta? Rotting more every day. New York? Slipping back into the 70’s bad ole’ days. Baltimore? On fire.

The media’s conclusion: the problem is Bush and/or failing to check our white privilege. Can you blame people for thinking we’re past a point of no return? Honestly?

wmartin:God in Heaven, I get tired of the “liberals tearing apart another liberal city” meme on the right. This kind of dysfunction and disorder are indeed characteristic of a particular demographic group, but that demographic is not “Democrats” or “liberals.”

Are you referring to the rioters? If not “Democrats” or “liberals” then who are they.

Now I realize this is very unfair and unjust and shame on me for stereotyping. But I can’t help wonder how these people have been voting for the past couple of decades and how they’re going to be voting in 2016?

The people of Baltimore (like the people of America) have what they have because they vote the way they vote.

wmartin:God in Heaven, I get tired of the “liberals tearing apart another liberal city” meme on the right. This kind of dysfunction and disorder are indeed characteristic of a particular demographic group, but that demographic is not “Democrats” or “liberals.”

Are you referring to the rioters? If not “Democrats” or “liberals” then who are they.

About that narrative: I checked to see what MSNBC’s take on this was. Chris Matthews was saying that it’s all about the jobs that aren’t there because the companies moved to Mexico or to right-to-work states.

My reaction: Why do you think businesses don’t rush into an area with plenty of available workers who ought to be willing to work for a fairly cheap wage? Answer: Who would want to hire these people?